Cohesion amid diversity

Geetu Vaid

The spirit of poetry is ethereal which can dissipate quickly. And to capture the essence of a poet’s art through a limited selection and that too in a translation, is certainly no cake walk. And if it is about presenting the work of six eminent poets of their time, it is nothing short of a Herculean effort. The probability of a slip-up and faux pas is huge, and it is with all these apprehensions that one approaches Rajesh Sharma's Maps of Impossible. In this anthology, Sharma strings together translations of 66 poems by six noted Hindi poets in what he calls “a patchwork quilt, warm, many-coloured, homey”.   

Kumar Vikal, Devi Prasad Mishra, Asad Zaidi, Ritu Raj, Pankaj Chaturvedi and Vyomesh Shukla — are the six doyens of Hindi poetry whose work one can savour in this collection. Differences in style, topics and personality have been used as a tool by Sharma to bring cohesion to the Maps of Impossible. “Fusion of the aesthetic, the ethical and the political” is what binds the diverse body of work of these poets. Kumar Vikal’s ability to straddle antithetical thoughts is balanced by Vyomkesh Shukla’s art of transforming reality into myth. Devi Prasad Mishra’s “live fables” are complemented by Asad Zaidi’s deep connect with history, and Ritu Raj’s grip on “irony” juxtaposes Pankaj Chaturvedi’s play on emotions. Thus, the landscape that Maps of Impossible sets out to explore has peaks of emotions, undulating valleys and vast deserts of relationships, volcanoes of discontent hidden in political comment and depths of existential dilemmas. The work of these noted poets showcases the rich tapestry of Hindi literature for those not familiar with it.   

In the translations, Sharma has tried to capture the essence of the poet's thought rather than following the meter, alliteration and rhyming of the original. Thus, in certain translations the effect and soul of the verse seems to have been compromised. But Sharma tries to make up for this with another effective tool. Each poem is accompanied with a reading by Sharma that places it in a context and introduces it to the reader, just like a signboard at the entrance of a city acquainting the traveller with the history and culture of the place. According to Sharma, “The readings accompanying the translations are my unprepared-for encounters with the poems. I have let them retain something of their unfinishedness, believing that possibilities do not believe in closures.” Sharma is not just the translator but also a guide who holds the torch for a reader venturing into the complicated lanes and back lanes of a poet’s world. 

As you move from one page to another, from one poem to another and from one poet to another, the effect is not scattered or disparate. Actually, in this anthology one can read each one of the poets separately as well as together. And this is possible due to a painstaking collection of the works of these writers by Sharma. His grip on the content doesn't slacken till the end. Overall, an enchanting and enlightening collection that lovers of poetry will cherish for a long time.